Rock Climbing Knots - Prusik Knot

A Prusik Knot is used in ascending a rope or as backup in abseiling. This knot is also useful in holding onto a vertical rope and hauling up load or another climber. It is often used in rescues as well.

Step 1:
Tie the working end and standing part together to form a loop. For added security, you can tie a Fisherman's or Double Fisherman's Knot to create the loop. Pass the knot around the rope.

Step 2:
Make a second turn around the rope and then pass the knot through the loop you made in Step 1.

Step 3:
Pull the knot to tighten.

Rock Climbing Knots - Double Alpine Butterfly Knot

A Double Alpine Butterfly enables you to form two loops in the middle of the rope if you do not have access to the two ends. Sorry, no video of this one but it's pretty easy to understand.

Step 1:
Wrap the rope four times around your hand.

Step 2:
Bring the first strand (the one nearest to your thumb) over the last strand.

Step 3:
Grab the two leftmost strands and bring them over the last two strands.

Step 4:
Bring the two rightmost strands underneath the other two.

Step 5:
Pull to tighten.

Rock Climbing Knots - Double Figure Eight Loop

Also known as bunny ears or rabbit ears, the Double Figure Eight Loop is tied to equalize the load on two anchors, each clipped to an 'ear'. This knot is very strong and secure. It is easy to adjust the size of the 'ears' by moving rope from one of the loops to the other.

Step 1:
Fold the rope back on itself to make a bight.

Step 2:
Form a loop, with the working end underneath the standing part.

Step 3:
Bring the working end on top of the standing part.

Step 4:
Make a loop in the working end.

Step 5:
Insert the second loop to the first one.

Step 6:
Get the working end and pass it around and over the knot.

Step 7:
Pull to tighten.

Rock Climbing Knots - Figure Eight Loop

The Figure Eight Loop is formed by making a Figure Eight Knot on a bight. It is usually considered to be about 15% stronger than a basic Bowline knot. This knot is very easy to remember and easy to tie. It is considered to be strong and secure. However, it is difficult to untie after applying heavy load.

Step 1:
Fold the rope back on itself to make a bight.

Step 2:
Form a loop, with the working end on top of the standing part.

Step 3:
Bring the working end underneath the standing part.

Step 4:
Pass the working end through the loop.

Step 5:
Pull the working end to tighten.

Rock Climbing Knots - Bowline

This type of knot opens under ring loading and is prone to loosening when there is no weight on it. This increases the possibility of it coming untied. Even so, the bowline can be used for a wide range of jobs, mainly tying into a climbing harness.

Step 1:
Twist the rope to form a crossing turn or a loop. You can do this by bringing the working end under the standing part.

Step 2:
Pass the tip of the working end through the crossing turn or loop.

Step 3:
Move the tip of the working end underneath the standing part.

Step 4:
Pass the tip of the working end through the crossing turn or loop again. Pull to tighten.

Rock Climbing Knots - Alpine Butterfly

The Alpine Butterfly is usually believed to be one of the strongest and safest loop knots. It is tough, secure, and easily tied. It can be tied in the middle of a rope when you don't have access to the ends. It can be pulled in multiple directions without distorting, and it can be used to strengthen a damaged rope by isolating the damaged area. All of these things make the Alpine Butterfly a very adaptable and important knot to know. Here are step-by-step instructions of how to tie this knot, the video does it a little differently though:

Step 1:
Twist the rope to form a loop.

Step 2:
Form another loop by twisting the loop that you made earlier. This creates two loops which resemble the number 8.

Step 3:
Bring the second loop (the one at the top) down and underneath the rope.

Step 4:
Pass the second loop through the first one.

Step 5:
Pull the two ends of the rope in opposite directions.

Rock Climbing Knots - How To Tie Climbing Knots

Tying Knots is an essential ability in all types of Climbing and it take a lot of practice. In the beginning, recalling every knot will be tricky. However, you don’t need to learn all of the knots immediately. The next few posts will be going over several of the knots used for rock climbing. I’ll try to provide videos from YouTube that show you exactly how to tie them.